Ethan Dodd – Visual Artist. Cardiff, Wales

March 15, 2015

Tumours – Unregulated Cellular Growth

In a bid to better understand this fascinating disease, I have been researching how and why cancer forms; and it’s effects on the body surrounding it. As we can see above, the main cause of Cancer is the removal of ‘Apoptosis’, which is ‘programmed cell death’. Cells birth, and die, and this is the natural order of the body, as well as throughout nature. However, Cancers work against this natural flow of the ecosystem, blocking the receptors that push the cells to die, and overriding them; causing the body to go effectively haywire. This idea of repetition is very interesting, and fits in well with the fact that I came to be very interested in the use of continuous repeating patterns within the field module ‘Art & The conscious mind’, as I have experienced a hallucination in which I saw a geometric, repeating pattern at the centre of the bodies of the people around me. This vortex of shifting shapes and colours inspired me, and still inspires me, in how I create art.

As I try to orchestrate this energy that seems to almost burst forth from the tumours, like the singularity within a black hole, one must explore the possibility that these concepts are intrinsically linked. Above, A quick sketch I created in a workshop during my field module; but an important one. This piece began my journey into the exploration of intricate patterns in a bid to understand the form I saw when hallucinating. Was it a vision from another being, or simply my mind struggling to deal with what I was seeing and experiencing at the same time? one can only ponder. It’s interesting to witness the connections between works that have been crafted before, and works that are being created now. I have begun to think about the possibility of utilising this repeated pattern as a means of orchestrating this cellular growth; a sort of invasion, or ‘taking over’ of the body, so to speak. The bottom form showcases this a lot better, as there is a clear divide between the watercolour form, and the black lines beginning to overtake it. This is interesting to perceive, and a possible point of development for sure.